Scene It? Lights, Camera, Action - T

Unlike board game, trivia is geared for teens.

Publisher: Microsoft Category/Genre: Video Games - Trivia Game Platform: Xbox 360 Price: $59.99 Online Enabled: No Graphics: Medium. Video clips lead from one game to the next. Playability: Easy. A cinch to play, though some knowledge of movies is vital. Reading Level: Light Release Date: 11/06/2007 ESRB Rating: T for Blood, Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco, Violence

Common Sense Note

Parents need to know that this game is based on the Scene It? brand of DVD-based board games. But while several editions of that version are appropriate for younger children, this video game isn't. It features clips from and trivia about movies geared for older audiences. Since many of the clips include things like light doses of drinking, smoking, profanity, sexuality, and violence, playing the game feels a lot like watching a PG-13 movie. Mature content aside, it would be difficult for younger players to enjoy the game, since success depends heavily on your knowledge of a broad spectrum of films, most of which kids probably aren't familiar with.

Families can talk about popular culture and the film industry's place within it. How will new media's continued rapid growth affect Hollywood? How will it affect viewers? Are iconic movie stars -- a staple of our popular culture for nearly a century -- in danger of fading away as the popularity of various forms of online entertainment increases?

Rate It!

Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: Chad Sapieha

An Xbox 360 exclusive, SCENE IT? LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION is a movie trivia game based on the successful line of DVD-based board games. It's composed of nearly two dozen short trivia challenges that pop up in random order throughout the game; each challenge is simple enough that its fundamentals can be grasped in a matter of seconds.

Scene It? veterans will recognize several of the featured trivia games, including "Movie Clip" -- in which players watch a scene from a well-known film and then answer questions based on what they saw -- and "Distorted Reality", in which players try to identify actors whose fragmented images are slowly pieced together. But there are plenty of fresh games as well, like "Props" -- which challenges players to name a movie based on seeing a picture of one of its famous props -- and "Child's Play", which tasks players to identify films based on simple crayon drawings of famous scenes.

These trivia tests flow at a steady pace and require next to no player intervention, ensuring that gaming rookies can enjoy the experience without worrying about what to do next or how to do it. You don't even need any experience with the original DVD game. Just plug the disc in, select how long you want the game to last, and follow the simple, single-sentence instructions. The only things players have to do is buzz in when necessary and press colored buttons that correspond with the multiple-choice answers shown on screen.

Lights, Camera, Action ships with four of Microsoft's wireless Big Button Pad controllers, which the company expressly designed to be less-intimidating than the standard joystick-, trigger-, and bumper-laden controllers used for most Xbox 360 games.

There are only three issues that have the potential to make Lights, Camera, Action a bust in your house. First, at least a passing interest in cinema is mandatory. Players who don't watch movies will be at significant disadvantage. Second, the game comes with 1,800 questions, which, by our calculations, is enough for only 35 matches of the shorter variety. That might sound like a lot, but even if you only play for an hour every other night for a month, you'll have squeezed the game dry. Third, unlike the DVD board games, this version isn't a good fit for younger children because the bulk of the questions are about films that aren't appropriate for little kids (just a sampling of titles: Meet the Parents, Kill Bill Vol. 1, A Fish Called Wanda , and Brokeback Mountain).

These three stumbling blocks aside, Scene It? Lights, Camera, Action is a great movie trivia game for teens and up.

If you don't have an Xbox 360 but want in on the trivia action, try PlayStation 2's Buzz! The Mega Quiz, which, like Lights, Camera, Action, comes with a quartet of remote control-style controllers. Wii owners can try Electronic Arts' Smarty Pants, which has a great selection of general-knowledge questions suitable for kids 8 and up. For the PC, consider Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?.

Reviewed: 12/06/2007

Rate It!

Content		CS	adults	kids
Content
Sexual Content Nothing explicit, but sex is a topic of conversation in some of the film clips.
Violence References to and clips from movies in which violence takes place, but the actual scenes are relatively tame.
Language Any really strong language in the movie clips has been bleeped, but words like "damn" and "hell" are clearly audible.
Message
	Social Behavior Some movie clips show minor mischief.
	Commercialism Based on an existing series of popular DVD board games. Plus, movie clips, photos of actors, and film trivia featured in the game might be construed as promotional.
	Drug/Alcohol/Tobacco Some of the movie clips feature adults smoking and drinking.
	Educational Value Players learn trivia about pop culture and movies.